Charge-torpedo.



J. A. HARDEL.

CHARGE TORPEDO.

APPLICATION FILED SEH. so, :918.

1,298,500. Patented Mar. 25,1919.

y. c? wom/11o@ Mmmm mnEL, on' luiers, ramon.

CHARGE-Touraine.

.speemoationof Letters Patent. Patented Mar. 25, 191,9.

Application led September 10, 1918. Serial No. 253,407.

To all whom z 't may concern:

Be it known that I. JEAN AMDE HAR- DEL, a citizen of the Republic ofVFrance, re-V siding at Paris, France, have-.invented a eertainnew anduseful Improvement .1n Charge f Torpedoes, of whlilt-he followmg is a''specilication My invention relates to charge torpedoes and;particularly to a chargetorpedo fomuse in the shooting Iof oil wells, orfor mining or quarry work where an explosive charge is fired below thesurface of the ground.

The-object of myinvention is to provide Y a charge torpedo which may be.conveniently chargedjust before itis inserted and inwhlch the explosivecharge -comprisestwo or lmore elements, each initself safe to handle.mamtainedseparate in the tor ,edo until the latter has reached firingposition and lthen mingled .to afford an explosive mixture which maybe,tired inany. desired manner.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fi re 1 is a' vertical section of a torpedo in w ich my invention isembQded in one form;

Fig.l 2 is a sectionon the line 2 2, F1 l;

Fig. 3 is a partial broken'elevation o the percussor and trigger of thetorpedo;

Figs. 4 and 5 are 'similar views showing the percussor respectively setandirelease'd; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation torpedoes assembled.

Deep oil well torpedoes yare usually charged with n-itroglycerin whichis expensive and difficult to obtain atpresent. as well as dangerous. tohandle andtransport at any time. In quarry and mining work, dynamite isused and this is also dangerous and difficult to obtain under resentconditions. Many fatalities occur in t Ae oil well regions each year as@result of the premature firing of nitroglycerin torpedoes 'or ofaccidents in the handlnaf Vthe explosives, .and .similar accidents are.frequent handling Sdymmite. i

Acordingto the present invention a torpedo is provided in whichthelcharge comprises two .Orf more ASeparate elementsyeach in itself.harmless .andihandled ,Without dangertbut 'termina when..m1gledaan.s211310- sisemixture .olf high power 'and -ecincy of a battery of`Whishmy51er.,51nd at wilL triedo'is appropriatelydivided into a pluraty of compartments, in which these elements are separately contained,whileineans are yprovided for breaking down the partition or partitionsbetween compartments to permit the elements of the explosive to mingleafter the torpedo has been inserted to firing position. While Variousexplosives maybe used .in connection with an apparatus such as thepresent I may refer byway of example to thewell known panclast'itesinvented by Turpin and the ingredients of which are peroxid of nitrogenon the one hand and an organic substance on the other hand.

' or the purpose of illustration, I have shown a two-compartment torpedosuitable for oil well shooting, but it will be understood that theinvention is applicable to various utilities andthat the constructionemployed must be adapted to various conditions. f

The torpedo shell 10 is tubular and sealed at its opposite endsby heads11 and'12f1ts exterior is divided by a frangiblepartition or diaphragm13 into tworchambers Hand 15 each of which contains aj separate ele'-ment of the explosive. The particular Anal ture of these elements neednotlie herein defined, inasmuch'as the particularexplol sive 'forms noportion of the present invention, but it may be statedthat both elementsare preferably in liquid formand consequently leakage between thechambers must be prevented. To this end' the diaphragm 13 .is faced oneach Aside by .packing rings 16 and 17 pressed against the diaphragmbycrown rings 18 and 19, retained by transverse pins'20, which pierce thetorpedo casing and are externally riveted down in position. It will benoted that the margins of the crown rings 18 and 19,' against'which thepins 20 bear, Vare beveled' to insure a we Aing action against `.thesame bythe hol v ing pins on their insert1on. Afll aperture 2,1 opens tothe chamberl 15. and is normally closed by a plug 22, while the'tillaperture 23 opens to chamber 1 4 and is closed by its plug 24'. 'Ventholes'25 open into the chambers 14 and 15 adjacent the llapertures andare closed byplugs 26.'

:Inasmuchas the torpedov frequently passesthrough considerable depth ofwater'hefoe it reaches the position in whichi't iste be tired, it Vissubjected to more vor less 'exterior pressure which might haveafdamaging eiect unless compensated. To'tliis end" sure. equalizing port27 and 28 respective y,

and seal the contents of the chamber from escape by a collapsibleandl'expansiblemember 29 of rubber or other suitable material.

It `is. obvious that the pressure exerted by Vtheliquid in the well isequalized within the torpedo .through these compensating ports 27 and 28and their iexible diaphragms 29, while the liquids within the latter are"sealed against, escape or contamination.

order to brealg down the frangible par-A tition 12, afterl the 'torpedohas reached liring position, .I 4provide any suitable ruptur- -in means.This might be caused by suit-I ab e chemical action or by an suitableelec'- trical appliance. For the sa e of illustrating the invention,however, .I have4 here shownamechanical device of simple and ef-Aiicient constru'ation',.A To'` the lower crown ring 19 I havese'cur'eda frame 30 b y which the tubular guide 31 is held in rigid position.

- Within. the guide works a percussion pin 32 adapted to vbe 2a.

driven by the spring 33 against the' diaphragm 13 to rupture the latter.-The percussor is held in inoperative position by a'ltrigger'34, the'nose 35 of which engages -overthe shoulder. 36 and holds the pin,against the .action of the spring 33.

Thepercu'ssor is retracted against the ac- `tion of its' spring 33, byla plummet 37 'which' engages a recess 38in thelower end of the pin 32'and. is therein by lcontact vwith the wall o'f theguide tube Thelatteris apertured however, at 39 to1 .permit the es -capaci .theplummet'from 'it-'s' seat after the 11i hasf been drawn down to a pointat which 1ts', shofl,1lder 36 engages beneath 4the. .noseof the trigger34,. To one endof thefplummet attached.' .a L ll wire or lanyard.3,9'jwhich passesaewn' t rpugh the guident-abge; and dla@ lley 41.securedto ighefllead,4 .11j

i' torpedo-'and .thence up through ,the-

I gla1'id`i42'td' a, cable 43..;I After thefesc'ape of 4s,

" itsdownwardtravel by apairof spring de# tent.. arns` 44' struck inwardfrom the vwalls I ofiftheguide tube 31. Inforde'rto pass this detentl`an .app'reiableI pull `must be exerted l uponff-thelalljyygrd -.4Q.Below"`the detent ag bevel boss'45, onithetrigger 34p'rojects intothe'guide tubel 31`fand lieslin the p ath ofthe y p1lim1pet 37 asitc-travels downward. after ltses'cape from 'thedteht ,The plummetoutward, thus disengaging the l,nose 35. of the' 66. ruse. e .batteri 0fterra-dees.. which are. 'Suaprefer' t6 ll the cessive'ly I illed 'andjoined-togcther as they are lowered into the well. I have illustratedsuch a battery, in Fig. 5, the several '.'lanyards40'being secured tothe common cable 43 which is paid out from the surface asthe -torpedo islowered into the well and by'which the several lanyards are operatedLwhen' it is desiredto prepare the charge.

Where a battexy o plosive element is filled into the chamber 14 throughthe' hole 23 in the upper head. Bolts 47, carried by this head, passthrough holes 48 in the base flange of the succeeding torpedo and aresecured by nuts located inthe annular recess 49 afforded by the conicalshape of the head4 1l of the torpedo. In.4 order to guide the lanyardAand cable 43 and hold them closely adjacent the torpedo, I may provide aflange-50 between which and the shell of the torpedo they are confined.A ca 51 with eye 52 may, be secured by the 47 on thetop torpedo of theseries to afford an attachment for the cable 53 by which the charge islowered to tiring position in the well.

It is to be understood of course that after theelements in the chambersof the torpedo have mingled and the charge is ready for firing, theexplosion thereof is caused by a detonator, electrically or otherwiseoperated.

In deep oil wells it would be suiiicient to drop or lowerinto the well afused detonator, or a contact` charge. This feature of the firingoperation is outside the scope of myv present l1ole,'-whether it be in adeep oil well, or'

the drilled hole of a quarry or mine.

Various modified constructions by which the same ends may be obtainedwill readily occur to those dealing with the problem without departingfrom what I claim as my invention.

14I Aclaim Y l. A charge torpedo comprising a con'- ta'iner, a diaphragmdividing said container into separate compartments to receiveseparat'eelements of anexplosive mixture, and mechanical means,operative after the torpedo has beeninserted to tiring position, torupture said diaphragm and thereby permit the said elements to mingle.

2.` A char-ge torpedo comprising a container, a diaphragm dividingsaidcontainer l intoseparate compartments to receive'sep arateelements of anexplosive mixture, and mechanical means, operative from the surolts faceafter the torpedo has been inserted to firing position, to rupture saiddiaphragm and thereby permit the said 'elements to mingle.

3. A battery of charge torpedoes comprising a series of independentcontainers, each having a diaphragm dividing the container into separatecompartments to receive separate elements of an explosive mixture, meansat the opposite ends of each container for uniting the same to theadjacent containers alined therewith end to end, and means operativefrom the surface after said battery has been inserted Yto firingposition, to substantially simultaneously rupture said diaphragms andthereby permit the elements of the several explosive mixtures to mingle.

4. A charge torpedo comprising a container having an explosive chargeand means for equalizing Within the container the exterior pressure towhich the container is subjected When inserted to ring position.

5. A charge torpedo comprising a container, a frangible diaphragmdividing thev same into separate compartments, a springpressed percussorand means operative after the torpedo has been lowered to ,firingposition, for releasing said percussor to rupture the diaphragm. t'

6. A charge torpedo comprising a container, a frangible diaphragmdividing the same into separate compartments, a spring- Y pressedpercussor, a trigger for holding said percussor against the action ofits spring, and a releasing device operative from the surface after thetorpedo has been lowered to tiring position, for operating the triggerto free the percussor.

7. A charge torpedo comprising -a container, a frangiblediaphragmdividing the same into Vseparate compartments, aspringpressed percussor,a, trigger for holding said percussor against the action of its spring,and a releasing 'device operative from the surface after the torpedo hasbeen inserted to ring position, for operating the trigger to free thepercussor, together with a d etent engaging said releasing device whilethe torpedo is being inserted to firing position.

8. In a charge torpedo, a spring-pressed percussor recessed at one end,a guide tube in which said percussor Works, a plummet adapted to lie insaid recess and be held therein by the guide t'ube, a trigger adapted toengage said percussor and hold the same against the action of itsspring, a p/ull cord secured to said plummet Ifor shifting saidpercussor in the guide tube against the action of its spring, intoposition to be engaged by said trigger, said'guide tube being aper-V:tured to permit the escape of the plummet4 from the recess in the guidetube after the percussor has reached position for engage' ment by thetrigger, a rictional detent within the tube to halt the plummet, and areleasing cam on the trigger engaged by the plummet to shift the triggerinto position to free the percussor after the plummet has passed thedetent, substantially as described.

9. A series of independent charge casings each comprising a casingcontaining separated elementsl of an explosive charge, means forsecuring said torpedoes together end to end as they are inserted intotiring position, and means for mingling the explosive charge elements ineach of said torpedoes simultaneously.

10. A series of charge torpedoes each containing separated elements ofan explosive charge, means for securing said torpedoes together end toend, a trlgger mechanism Within each torpedo to control the mingling ofthe explosive mixture elements therein, a series of lanyards attached tosaid several trigger mechanisms and a common pull cord to which saidlanyards are attached for operating the same simultaneously.

' 11. 1n a construction such as specified in claim l0, an exterior guideon the torpedoes in which said pull cord is confined adjacent the shellof the torpedo.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name to this specification.

JEAN AMDE HARDEL.

